Friends

My daughter in law Jessica loves the show, Friends. The sitcom, Friends ran for 10 seasons. It’s now 30 years old, the same age as Jessica. In keeping with her love for the show Friends the theme of Jessica and my son Stevie's wedding was, you guessed it, Friends.

The idea of friends doing life together through the ups and downs of life resonates with people. One of my pastors used to say, “The only thing we take to heaven with us is our relationships.” He was right, relationships are precious and friends are a blessing. I’ve been alarmed by recent studies indicating there is a loneliness epidemic in our country. There are many factors contributing to the loneliness problem but it doesn’t have to be that way.

One of the many blessings of church life is the opportunity to make friends. My wife Karen and I have developed friendships with people in every church we have been a part of. Our friendships have enriched our lives in so many ways it would take volumes of books to recount all the memories and blessings and seasons of life we shared together.

In Proverbs 17:17 it says, “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." (NLT) In the Message Bible it says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” It’s great to have friends but it’s important to be a good friend to our friends. I think most friendships endure a little hardship or drama at some point. The question is, is the friendship strong enough to survive misunderstandings and hurt feelings? I guess that depends on how much you value the friendship? Although I have been blessed to have many friends, some of my friendships have gone through seasons of turmoil.

As we enter into this new year, maybe it would be a good time to take stock of your friendships. Ask yourself, are there some unresolved issues with any of my friends? If so, now would be a good time to reconnect with that friend. I can think of a few friendships from my past that needed serious attention in order for the relationship to continue. In some cases it required me to forgive and let go of the things that fractured the friendship. If we value friendship, it doesn’t matter who was right or wrong, it’s about putting the past in the rearview mirror and leaving it there. Not every friendship will survive the storms of life but we should do all we can to enjoy and value one of God’s greatest gifts to us, friends!

Love and Blessings,

Steve